in behalf of skin, and everything that a man has he will give in behalf of his soul. For a change, thrust out your hand, please, and touch as far as his bone and his flesh and see whether he will not curse you to your very face.”—Job 2:4, 5.

Time was required to settle the issues that had been raised. Hence, Jehovah God, by permitting wicked persons to continue living, made it possible for others to share in proving Satan’s claim to be false by serving God faithfully under unfavorable and trialsome circumstances. God’s permission of wickedness has also provided an opportunity for individuals to abandon a wrong course and to subject themselves willingly to God’s righteous laws. (Isa. 55:7; Ezek. 33:11) So God’s holding back for a time from destroying the wicked serves to spare the righteously disposed ones by allowing time for them to prove their love and devotion to Jehovah.—Rom. 9:17-26.

Additionally, Jehovah God makes use of circumstances in such a way that the wicked themselves unwittingly serve his purpose. Though they oppose God, he is able to restrain them to the extent necessary to preserve his servants in their integrity, and to cause their actions to bring his righteousness to the fore. (Rom. 3:3-5, 23-26; 8:35-39; Ps. 76:10) This thought is expressed at Proverbs 16:4: “Everything Jehovah has made for his purpose, yes, even the wicked one for the evil day.”

A case in point is the Pharaoh on whom Jehovah, through Moses and Aaron, served notice for the release of the enslaved Israelites. God did not make this Egyptian ruler wicked, but he did allow him to continue living and also brought about circumstances that caused Pharaoh to manifest himself as being wicked and deserving of death. Jehovah’s purpose in doing this is revealed at Exodus 9:16: “For this cause I have kept you in existence, for the sake of showing you my power and in order to have my name declared in all the earth.”

The ten plagues visited upon Egypt, climaxed by the destruction of Pharaoh and his military forces in the Red Sea, were an impressive demonstration of Jehovah’s power. (Ex. 7:14–12:30; Ps. 78:43-51; 136:15) For years afterward the nations round about were still talking about it, and God’s name was thus being declared throughout the earth. (Josh. 2:10, 11; 1 Sam. 4:8) Had Jehovah killed Pharaoh immediately, this grand display of God’s power to His glory and for the deliverance of his people would not have been possible.

The Scriptures give assurance that the time will come when wickedness will no longer exist, as all who stand in opposition to the Creator will be destroyed when His permission of wickedness will have served its purpose.—2 Pet. 3:9-13; Rev. 18:20-24; 19:11–20:3, 7-10.

WIDOW

[Heb.,ʼal·ma·nahʹ, widow; Gr., kheʹra, widow (also, metaphorically, one bereaved)].

A woman who has lost her husband in death and has not remarried. Death of the husband severed the marriage bond, leaving the widow free to remarry if she chose to do so. (Ruth 1:8-13; Rom. 7:2, 3; 1 Cor. 7:8, 9) Under the patriarchal arrangement, and later under the Mosaic law, the brother of a man who had died childless was to take his brother’s widow as his wife and have a child by her, to carry on the line of her deceased husband.—Gen. 38:8; Deut. 25:5-10; Ruth 4:3-10; see BROTHER-IN-LAW MARRIAGE.

Upon the death of their mate, widows could return to the house of their father. (Gen. 38:11) In the Law, specific provision to this effect was made for the daughter of a priest who became widowed or was divorced. Since the priest received tithes for his household’s sustenance, the daughter could share in this provision. This assured that she would not face poverty, and thus avoided any reproach upon the priesthood. (Lev. 22:13) For those widows who had no such support or protection, provisions were made in God’s law for them to enjoy gleaner’s rights in the fields, olive groves and vineyards (Deut. 24:19-21), to participate in the bounteous celebration each year at festivals (Deut. 16:10-14) and, every third year, to share in the tithes that were contributed by the nation.—Deut. 14:28, 29; 26:12, 13.

CONCERN OF JEHOVAH AND JESUS CHRIST FOR WIDOWS

Jehovah spoke of himself as the One “executing judgment for the fatherless boy and the widow.” (Deut. 10:18) Strong injunctions are given in the Law as to the administration of full and equal justice to widows. (Ex. 22:22-24; Deut. 24:17) A curse was pronounced upon those perverting the judgment of widows (Deut. 27:19), and proper treatment of widows was urged in the writings of the prophets.—Isa. 1:17, 23; 10:1, 2; Jer. 22:3; Ezek. 22:7; Zech. 7:9, 10; Mal. 3:5.

Jesus displayed his concern for the welfare of the widows in Israel when he condemned the scribes as “the ones devouring the houses of the widows.”—Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:46, 47.

CHRISTIAN ASSISTANCE TO WIDOWS

During the emergency that arose in the Christian congregation shortly after the day of Pentecost, 33 C.E., the Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. When this was brought to the attention of the apostles they considered the matter so important that they appointed “seven certified men . . . full of spirit and wisdom” to supervise the distribution of food with equity.—Acts 6:1-6.

The apostle Paul, at 1 Timothy 5:3-16, gave complete instructions for the loving care of widows in the Christian congregation. The congregation was to care for destitute widows. But if the widow had children or grandchildren, they should assume the responsibility of providing for her needs, or, as Paul instructed, “if any believing woman has widows [that is, widows related to her], let her relieve them, and let the congregation not be under the burden. Then it can relieve those who are actually widows [that is, actually bereaved, without help].” A widow put on the list for material help by the congregation was one “who has become not less than sixty years old,” having a good record of morality, of faithful, loving devotion to Jehovah and of hospitality and love toward others. On the other hand, the apostle recommends that young widows remarry, bear children and manage a household, thereby avoiding the snare of sexual impulses and the danger of being “unoccupied, . . . gossipers and meddlers in other people’s affairs.”

Jesus’ half-brother James highlighted the importance of looking after orphans and widows in their tribulation when he set it parallel with keeping oneself without spot from the world, as a requisite for worship that is clean and undefiled from God’s stand-point.—Jas. 1:27.

Among the widows of notable faith are Tamar (Gen. 38:6, 7), Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 1:3-5), Abigail (1 Sam. 25:37, 38, 42), the widow of Zarephath (1 Ki. 17:8-24) and Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:36, 37; compare Luke’s description of Anna with the qualifications of a worthy widow as outlined by Paul at 1 Timothy 5:3-16 discussed in a foregoing paragraph). Also, an unnamed widow was highly commended by Jesus because she contributed all of what she had to the temple.—Mark 12:41-44.

FIGURATIVE USE

Cities, when cast off and desolated, are symbolically likened to widows. (Lam. 1:1; compare Jeremiah 51:5.) Babylon the Great, “the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth,” boasts, like her type, ancient Babylon, that she will never become a widow. Nevertheless, just as ancient Babylon did indeed become a “widow,” so will modern Babylon the Great.—Isa. 47:8, 9; Rev. 17:18; 18:7, 8.

WIFE

Jehovah God provided the first man Adam a wife by taking a rib from him and building it into the woman. She thereby became bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. She was the counterpart of Adam and was created as a helper for him. (Gen. 2:18, 20-23) God dealt directly with Adam, and Adam, in turn, passed on God’s commandments to his wife. By reason of his prior creation and his being created in God’s image he had the priority as head and was the spokesman for God to her. His headship was to be exercised in love and the woman as a helper was to cooperate in the procreative mandate issued to the pair.—Gen. 1:28; see WOMAN.

After the sin, first of Eve, who instead of being a helper to her husband proved to be a temptress, and then of her husband Adam, who followed her in transgression, God pronounced judgment on the woman, saying: “I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.” (Gen. 3:16) Since that time, among many peoples of the earth the woman has indeed been dominated, often in a very harsh way, by her husband, and instead of being a companion and helper, she has in many cases been treated more like a servant.

AMONG THE ANCIENT HEBREWS

Among the ancient Hebrews the man was the head of the house and his wife’s owner (Hebrew, baʹʽal) and the woman was the one owned (b^eʽu·lahʹ). Among servants of God the wife occupied a dignified and honorable place. Godly women of spirit and ability, while subject to their husbandly head, had much latitude and freedom of action and were happy in their place and were blessed in being used by Jehovah God to perform special services for him. Examples among the many faithful wives of the Bible are Sarah, Rebekah, Deborah, Ruth, Esther and Mary the mother of Jesus.

Wife protected under the Law

While the husband occupied the superior position in the marriage arrangement, God’s requirements were that he was to provide for and care for the family in a material and spiritual way. Also, all the wrongdoings of the family reflected on him; consequently he had a heavy responsibility. And while he had greater privileges than the wife, God’s law protected the wife, and gave her certain unique privileges also, so that she was able to live a happy, productive life.

A few examples of the Law’s provisions involving the wife were: Either husband or wife could be put to death for adultery. If the husband was auspicious of secret infidelity on the part of his wife, he could bring her to the priest, for Jehovah God to judge the matter. If the woman was guilty, her reproductive organs would atrophy. On the other hand, if she was not guilty, the husband was required to make her pregnant, thereby publicly acknowledging her to be innocent. (Num. 5:12-31) A husband could divorce his wife if he found something indecent on her part. This would likely include such things as showing him gross disrespect or bringing reproach upon the house-hold or that of his father. But the wife was protected by the requirement that he must write out for her a certificate of divorce. She was then free to marry another man. (Deut. 24:1, 2) If the wife made a vow that her husband thought unwise or detrimental to the family’s welfare, he could nullify it. (Num. 30:10-15) This, however, was a safeguard for the wife, keeping her from any hasty action that might bring her into dificulty.

Polygamy was allowed under the Mosaic law but was regulated so that the wife was protected. The husband could not transfer the right of the firstborn from the son of a less-loved wife to the son of his favorite wife. (Deut. 21:15-17) If an Israelite daughter was sold by her father as a servant and the master took her as a concubine and she did not please him, he could allow her to be redeemed but could not sell her to a foreign people. (Ex. 21:7, 8) If either he or his son had taken her as a concubine and then married another wife, she was to be provided with food, clothing and shelter and the marriage dues. (Ex. 21:9-11) If a husband maliciously charged his wife with having falsely pretended to be a virgin at the time of marriage and his charge was proved false, he was punished and had to pay her father twice the marriage rate for virgins and could never divorce her all his days. (Deut. 22:13-19) If a man seduced an unengaged virgin, he was required to pay the marriage price to her father and, if the father permitted, to marry her, after which he could never divorce her all his days.—Deut. 22:28, 29; Ex. 22:16, 17.

While the position of the wife in Hebrew society was somewhat different from her status in Western society today, the faithful Hebrew wife enjoyed her position and her work. She helped her husband, raised the family and managed the household and found many things of satisfaction and delight, being able to express her womanly nature and talents to the full.

DESCRIPTION OF A GOOD WIFE

The happy state and activities of the faithful wife are described at Proverbs 31. She is said to be of more value to her husband than corals. He is able to put trust in her. She is industrious, weaving, making clothing for her family, attending to the buying of household needs, working in the vineyard, managing a household with the servants, aiding others who need help, clothing her family attractively, even bringing in some income by her handiwork, equipping her family against future emergencies, expressing herself in wisdom and loving-kindness and, through fear of Jehovah and good works, receiving praise from her husband and from her sons, thereby honoring her husband and her family in the land. Truly he who has found a good wife has found a good thing and gets goodwill from Jehovah.—Prov. 18:22.

FIGURATIVE USE

In a figurative sense Jehovah spoke of Israel as a wife to him by reason of his covenant with the nation. (Isa. 54:6) The apostle Paul speaks of Jehovah as the Father of spirit-begotten Christians and of the “Jerusalem above” as their mother, as though Jehovah is married to her for the purpose of bringing forth spirit-begotten Christians. (Gal. 4:6, 7, 26) The Christian congregation is spoken of as the bride or wife of Jesus Christ.—Eph. 5:23, 25; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9.

IN THE CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION

In the Christian congregation the standard is that a husband should have only one living wife. (1 Cor. 7:2; 1 Tim. 3:2) Wives are commanded to be in subjection to their husbands, whether these husbands are Christian believers or not. (Eph. 5:22-24) Wives are not to withhold the marital due, for as with the husband, so with the wife, she does not “exercise authority over her own body.” (1 Cor. 7:3, 4) Wives are instructed to let their primary adornment be that of the secret person of the heart, producing the fruitage of the spirit, that perhaps through their conduct alone the unbelieving husband may be won over to Christianity.—1 Pet. 3:1-6.

WILD ASS

See ASS.

WILD BULL

See BULL.

WILDERNESS

Wilderness regions form the background for many of the Biblical accounts and are frequently used in figurative or metaphorical statements.